Wooster man sentenced to prison

Friday

WOOSTER -- A Wooster man was sentenced to prison for molesting a 12-year-old girl.

Eric D. Langley, 37, 4400 Melrose Drive, Lot 214, was sentenced to 18 months in prison by Judge Mark K. Wiest in Wayne County Court of Common Pleas for one count of attempted gross sexual imposition, a fifth-degree felony.

He is required to register as a Tier II sex offender for 25 years upon his release from prison.

The charge stems from an investigation by the Wooster Police Department initiated in December 2012, according to detective William Belcher.

The girl, now age 13, told her mother about the inappropriate touching, who in turn contacted Wayne County Children Services.

The victim stated when she and Langley would wrestle at his residence it would devolve into him touching her inappropriately outside of her clothes. Incidents occurred multiple times before the victim reported it to her mother, according to the investigation.

Langley was indicted June 24 on one count of gross sexual imposition and sexual imposition, both third-degree felonies.

He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of attempted gross sexual imposition in exchange for the state dropping the other charges.

Belcher said Langley served for roughly 12 months in Afghanistan (he returned in June 2012) and serviced Abrams tanks while there.

John Leonard, Langley's attorney, asked the judge Wednesday to take into account his client's physical and mental state of mind and added Langley

suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

"(Langley) can't change what he has done, but he would like to," Leonard said.

"The most important point is the young victim in this case ... who trusted you is going to have to live with this for the rest of her life," Wiest said before issuing his sentence.

Reporter Steve Huszai can be reached at 330-287-1645 or shuszai@the-daily-record.com. He is @GeneralSmithie on Twitter.

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